Method for closing wound

ABSTRACT

A method for closing a wound in a tubular organ using a suture thread attached to a suture needle. The method includes grasping a first part of the suture thread by a grasper inserted in the tubular organ after the suture thread has been passed through tissue surrounding the wound at a first position; moving the first part away from the first position by moving the grasper grasping the first part along a longitudinal axis of the grasper; grasping a second part of the suture thread located between the first part and the first position by the grasper; and moving the second part away from the first position by moving the grasper grasping the second part along the longitudinal axis of the grasper.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to a method for closing a wound, morespecifically, a method for closing a wound formed in a tubular organunder observation with a flexible endoscope.

Background Art

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is becoming widespread as one ofthe treatments for gastrointestinal tumors. After the ESD procedure, awider range of mucosal defects occur than in endoscopic mucosalresection (EMR). From the viewpoint of promoting recovery, it ispreferable to close the defective site.

Clips are known as a means for transendoscopically closing wounds suchas mucosal defects, but since mucosal defects due to ESD are large, itis often impossible to close them with clips.

Another means of closing a wound is suturing with a suture thread. Bytracting the suture thread around the wound, the periphery of the woundapproaches and the wound is closed.

Devices for transendoscopic suturing have been proposed.

The device described in United States patent application, PublicationNo. 2015/0142021 sutures tissue by tracting a thread held by a snare orhook and attaching the thread fastener to prevent loosening of thethread through the tissue.

SUMMARY

The present invention is a method for closing a wound in a tubular organusing a suture thread attached with a suture needle. The method has thefollowing steps: a step of grasping a first part of the suture thread bya grasper inserted in the tubular organ, the suture thread having passedthrough a first position of a surrounding tissue of the wound; a step ofmoving the first part away from the first position by moving the graspergrasping the first part along a longitudinal axis of the grasper; a stepof grasping a second part of the suture thread by the grasper, thesecond part being located between the first part and the first position;and a step of moving the second part away from the first position bymoving the grasper grasping the second part along the longitudinal axisof the grasper.

Another aspect of the present invention has the following steps: a stepof grasping a first part of the suture thread by a first grasperinserted in the tubular organ, the suture thread having passed through afirst position of a surrounding tissue of the wound; a step of movingthe first part away from the first position by moving the first graspergrasping the first part along a longitudinal axis of the first grasper;a step of grasping a second part of the suture thread by a secondgrasper inserted in the tubular organ, the second part being locatedbetween the first part and the first position; and a step of moving thesecond part away from the first position by moving the second graspergrasping the second part along a longitudinal axis of the secondgrasper.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view showing step A of a method for closing a woundaccording to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing step B of the method for closing.

FIG. 3 is a view showing step C of the method for closing.

FIG. 4 is a view showing step D of the method for closing.

FIG. 5 is a view showing step E of the method for closing.

FIG. 6 is a view showing step C1 of the method for closing.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a flow of a suture thread tractionoperation according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view showing step F of a method for closing a woundaccording to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a view showing step G of the method for closing.

FIG. 10 is a view showing step H of the method for closing.

FIG. 11 is a view showing step I of the method for closing.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of a suture thread tractionoperation according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a view showing step J of a method for closing a woundaccording to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a view showing step K of the method for closing.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing part of the flow of a suture threadtraction operation according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a view showing step L of a method for closing a woundaccording to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a view showing step M of the method for closing.

FIG. 18 is a view showing step N of the method for closing.

FIG. 19 is a view showing step O of the method for closing.

FIG. 20 is a view showing step P of the method for closing.

FIG. 21 is a view showing step N1 of the method for closing.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a flow of a suture thread tractionoperation according to the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a view showing step Q of a method for closing a woundaccording to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a view showing step R of the method for closing.

FIG. 25 is a view showing step S of the method for closing.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing a flow of a suture thread tractionoperation according to the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a view showing step T of a method for closing a woundaccording to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a view showing step U of the method for closing.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing part of the flow of a suture threadtraction operation according to the sixth embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

As a preparatory work, a flexible endoscope having a flexible insertionpart is inserted into a tubular organ through a target's mouth or nose,and the distal end of the flexible endoscope is moved to a vicinity of awound to be closed.

Next, a first grasper capable of grasping a suture thread and a secondgrasper different from the first grasper are introduced in the vicinityof the wound. The first grasper and the second grasper are, for example,an elongated forceps or a needle holder used together with a flexibleendoscope, and either double-opening or single-opening can be used. Thefirst grasper and the second grasper can be introduced into the body bypassing through a channel of the endoscope, passing through an externalchannel attached to the endoscope, bundling with a band or the like inthe endoscope, and the like.

In a case where the wound is a mucosal defect after the ESD procedure,the operator may temporarily remove the flexible endoscope from thetubular organ after the ESD procedure, protrude the distal end of thefirst grasper from the distal end opening of the channel of the flexibleendoscope, and, with a suture needle or a suture thread attached to thesuture needle grasped by the distal end of the first grasper, reinsertthe first grasper with the flexible endoscope into the tubular organ.

When the suture thread is tracted through the suture thread in the twotissues facing each other across the wound, the two tissues approacheach other. The wound can be closed by forming a plurality of pairs oftwo tissues according to the number of wounds.

When closing a large wound, it is necessary to pass a suture threadthrough many parts of the tissue around the wound (hereinafter, referredto as “surrounding tissue”). In addition, the amount of tractionrequired to pass the suture thread through the many parts is alsoincreased.

The present invention has a major feature in the traction mode of thesuture thread. In the following, a suture thread traction operationaccording to the present embodiment will be further described withreference to an example in which the first grasper and the secondgrasper are passed through the channel of the endoscope.

FIG. 1 shows a suture thread 1 threaded through the wound wd. The suturethread 1 can be arranged so as to intersect the wound wd by passing acurved needle 2 attached to the suture thread through two points of thesurrounding tissue of the wound wd. In order to close the wound wd bycontinuous suturing with the suture thread 1, it is necessary to furtherpass the curved needle 2 through the surrounding tissue, and thereforeit is necessary to tract the suture thread 1.

The operator brings the first grasper 10 and the second grasper 20closer to the suture thread 1, and as shown in FIG. 1, grasps the suturethread 1 with the first grasper 10, which has a distance from the woundwd larger than that of the second grasper 20 (step A). When performingstep A, the first grasper 10 may grasp the curved needle 2 attached tothe suture thread 1 as shown in FIG. 1 or may grasp the suture thread 1itself.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the operator advances the first grasper 10grasping the suture thread 1 so as to move the grasped part (first part)P1 of the suture thread 1 grasped by the first grasper 10 away from theposition (first position) T1 of the surrounding tissue through which thesuture thread was immediately passed (step B).

By step B, the suture thread 1 is tracted by an increase in the distancebetween the grasped part P1 grasped by the first grasper 10 and theposition T1.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the operator grasps the grasped part (secondpart) P2 of the suture thread 1 extending between the grasped part P1and the position T1 by the second grasper 20 (step C). Further, as shownin FIG. 4, the operator advances the second grasper 20 grasping thesuture thread 1 in the longitudinal axis direction so as to move thegrasped part P2 grasped by the second grasper 20 away from the positionT1 (step D).

By step D, the suture thread 1 is tracted by an increase in the distancebetween the grasped part P2 and the position T1. Therefore, in step C,it is preferable to grasp the position close to the position T1 with thesecond grasper, and the endoscope Es may be operated if necessary.

As shown in FIG. 5, the operator releases the grasping of the graspedpart P2 by the second grasper 20 and retracts the second grasper 20 inthe longitudinal axis direction (step E). Further, as shown in FIG. 6,the operator grasps the grasped part P3 of the suture thread 1 by thesecond grasper 20 (step C1). The operation itself of step C1 issubstantially the same as that of step C, and it can be said that it isone aspect of step C. However, in step C1, the grasped part P3 locatedbetween the grasped part P2 and the position T1 is grasped by the secondgrasper 20.

In step C1, the suture thread 1 may be adjusted to a position where itcan be easily grasped by the second grasper 20 by rotating the endoscopeEs or the first grasper 10 around the longitudinal axis, if necessary.

The operator then iterates the setting of steps C to E until the suturethread 1 is tracted from the position T1 to a desired length andtemporarily ends the suture thread traction operation. The final set ofiterations does not necessarily have to go to step E and may end at stepD.

After the traction operation is completed, the suture thread 1 is passedby penetrating the curved needle 2 through the surrounding tissue, andthe suture thread traction operation is performed again. After passingthe suture thread 1 through the surrounding tissue a sufficient numberof times to close the wound wd, the wound wd is sewn and closed.

The flow of the suture thread traction operation in the first embodimentis shown in FIG. 7 in a flowchart.

As described above, according to the method for closing a woundaccording to the present embodiment, the suture thread 1 can be tractedonly by combining the operation of grasping the suture thread 1 by thefirst grasper 10 with the steps B, D, and E of repeatedly advancing andretreating the second grasper 20. As a result, a needle holder or thelike having a simple structure that does not have an active bendingfunction can be used as the first grasper and the second grasper.

In addition, since the wound can be closed as long as a space is securedfor the second grasper to advance and retreat, the method can besmoothly performed even in a narrow tubular organ.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 8 to 12. In the following description, with respectto the steps and configurations already described, the same referencenumerals are given, and duplicate description will be omitted asappropriate.

First, steps A to D are performed in the same procedure as in the firstembodiment.

Following step D, as shown in FIG. 8, the grasping of the suture thread1 by the first grasper 10 is released and the first grasper 10 isretracted (step F).

Next, the suture thread 1 is grasped by the first grasper 10 at aposition between the grasped part P2 and the position T1 (step G). Inorder to bring the first grasper 10 closer to the suture thread 1between the grasped part P2 and the position T1, it is a convenientmethod to rotate the endoscope Es around the longitudinal axis as shownin FIG. 9. Alternatively, the first grasper 10 may be brought closer tothe suture thread 1 by bending the endoscope Es or advancing andretreating the endoscope Es.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the first grasper 10 grasping the suturethread 1 is moved away from the position T1 (step H). Since FIG. 10 is aview following FIG. 9, it is a view showing that the endoscope Es isrotated in the direction opposite to step G. However, in step H, thespecific operation of moving the first grasper 10 away from the positionT1 can be appropriately set.

The first grasper 10 may be advanced or retracted in step H.

Next, as shown in FIG. 11, the grasping of the suture thread 1 by thefirst grasper 10 is released (step I).

The operator then iterates the set of steps G to I until the suturethread 1 is tracted from the position T1 to a desired length, andtemporarily ends the suture thread traction operation. The final set ofiterations does not necessarily have to go to step I and may end at stepH.

The flow of the suture thread traction operation in the secondembodiment is shown in FIG. 12 in a flowchart.

According to the method for closing a wound according to the presentembodiment, the suture thread 1 can be tracted only by combining theoperation of grasping the suture thread by the first grasper 10 or thesecond grasper 20 with the step of advancing and retreating the firstgrasper 10 or the second grasper 20. As a result, the same effect asthat of the first embodiment is obtained.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 13 to 15.

First, steps A to I are performed in the same procedure as in the secondembodiment.

Following step I, as shown in FIG. 13, the suture thread 1 is grasped bythe second grasper 20 at a position between the grasped part P4 and theposition T1 where the first grasper 10 grasps the suture thread 1. (StepJ).

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 14, by advancing the second grasper 20grasping the suture thread 1, the grasped part P5 grasped by the secondgrasper 20 is moved away from the position T1 (step K). In FIG. 14,although the first grasper 10 is advancing together with the secondgrasper 20, the movement of the first grasper 10 in step K can bechanged. For example, the position of the first grasper 10 may not bechanged by releasing the grasping of the suture thread 1 by the firstgrasper 10.

The above flow is shown in FIG. 15 in a flowchart.

After performing step K, the set of steps C, D, and E, or the set ofsteps J and K is performed until the suture thread 1 is tracted from theposition T1 to the desired length, and the suture thread tractionoperation is temporarily ended. The set of steps C, D and E and the setof steps J and K can be freely combined, and only one of them may beperformed.

The method for closing a wound according to the present embodimentsimply combines the operation of grasping the suture thread with thefirst grasper 10 or the second grasper 20 with the step of advancing andretreating the first grasper 10 or the second grasper 20, so that thesuture thread 1 can be tracted. As a result, the same effects as thoseof the first embodiment and the second embodiment are obtained.

The first to third embodiments are suitable in a case where the positionof the tissue through which the suture thread has been passedimmediately before is relatively close to the endoscope Es as inposition T1.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 16 to 22.

As shown in FIG. 16, the operator grasps the suture thread 1 with thefirst grasper 10 having a large distance from the wound wd (step L). Theoperation of step L is similar to step A in the first embodiment, but isdifferent in that the position T2 of the tissue through which the suturethread 1 was passed immediately before is separated from the distal endof the endoscope Es than the position T1 in the first embodiment.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 17, the operator retracts the firstgrasper 10 to move the grasped part P6 grasped by the first grasper 10away from the position T2 (step M). By step M, the suture thread 1 istracted by an increase in the distance between the grasped part P6 andthe position T2.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 18, in a state where the second grasper20 is advanced, the operator grasps the suture thread 1 by the secondgrasper 20 at a position between the grasped part P6 and the position T2(Step N). Further, the operator retracts the second grasper 20 whilegrasping the suture thread 1, and moves the grasped part P7 grasped bythe second grasper 20 away from the position T2 as shown in FIG. 19(step O). By step O, the suture thread 1 is tracted by an increase inthe distance between the grasped part P7 and the position T2.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 20, the operator releases the grasping ofthe grasped part P7 by the second grasper 20 (step P), and as shown inFIG. 21, grasps the suture thread 1 by the second grasper 20 at aposition between the grasped part P7 and the position T2 (step N1). Theoperation itself of step N1 is substantially the same as that of step Nand can be said to be one aspect of step N.

The operator then iterates the set of steps N to P until the suturethread 1 is tracted from the position T2 to a desired length andtemporarily ends the suture thread traction operation. The final set ofiterations does not necessarily have to go to step P and may end at stepO.

The flow of the suture thread traction operation in the fourthembodiment is shown in FIG. 22 in a flowchart.

The method for closing a wound according to the present embodimenttracts the suture thread 1 only by combining the operation of graspingthe suture thread by the first grasper 10 with the step of advancing andretreating the first grasper 10 or the second grasper 20. As a result,the same effects as those of the first to third embodiments areobtained.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 23 to 26.

First, steps L to O are performed in the same procedure as in the fourthembodiment.

Following step O, the operator releases the grasping of the grasped partP6 by the first grasper 10 as shown in FIG. 23 (step Q), and grasps thesuture thread 1 by the first grasper 10 at a position between thegrasped part P7 grasped by the second grasper 20 and the position T2 asshown in FIG. 24 (step R).

In step R, it is preferable to grasp the suture thread 1 with the firstgrasper 10 at a position close to the position T2. Therefore, similarlyto step H described above, the endoscope Es may be operated to bring thefirst grasper 10 closer to the position T2. FIG. 24 shows an example ofrotating the endoscope Es around the longitudinal axis.

Subsequently, the operator retracts the first grasper 20 while graspingthe suture thread 1 to move the grasped part P8 away from the positionT2 as shown in FIG. 25 (step S). By step S, the suture thread 1 istracted by an increase in the distance between the grasped part P7grasped by the first grasper 10 and the position T2.

Step S may be combined with the rotation operation of the endoscope Es.In the example shown in FIG. 25, the first grasper 20 is retracted whilethe endoscope Es is rotated around the longitudinal axis.

After that, the operator iterates the setting of steps Q to S until thesuture thread 1 is tracted from the position T2 to a desired length andtemporarily ends the suture thread traction operation.

The flow of the suture thread traction operation in the fourthembodiment is shown in FIG. 26 in a flowchart.

The method for closing a wound according to the present embodimentsimply combines the operation of grasping the suture thread by the firstgrasper 10 or the second grasper 20 with the step of advancing andretreating the first grasper 10 or the second grasper 20, so that thesuture thread 1 can be tracted. As a result, the same effects as thoseof the first to fourth embodiments are obtained.

A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described withreference to FIGS. 27 to 29.

First, steps L to O are performed in the same procedure as in the fourthembodiment.

Subsequently, steps Q to S are performed in the same procedure as in thefifth embodiment.

Subsequently, the grasping of the suture thread 1 by the second grasper20 is released, and as shown in FIG. 27, in a state where the secondgrasper 20 is advanced, the suture thread 1 is grasped at the graspedpart P9 located between the grasped part P8 and the position T2 (stepT). Further, the second grasper 20 is retracted while grasping thegrasped part P9, and the grasped part P9 is moved away from the positionT2 as shown in FIG. 28 (step U).

The above flow is shown in a flowchart in FIG. 29.

After performing step U, the set of steps Q, R, S, or the set of steps Tand U is performed until the suture thread 1 is tracted from theposition T2 to the desired length, and the suture thread tractionoperation is temporarily ended.

The set of steps Q, R, S and the set of steps T, U can be freelycombined, and only one of them may be performed.

The method for closing a wound according to the present embodimentsimply combines the operation of grasping the suture thread by the firstgrasper 10 or the second grasper 20 with the step of advancing andretreating the first grasper 10 or the second grasper 20, so that thesuture thread 1 can be tracted. As a result, the same effects as thoseof the first to fifth embodiments are obtained.

The fourth to sixth embodiments are suitable in a case where theposition of the tissue through which the suture thread has been passedimmediately before is relatively far from the endoscope Es as inposition T2.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been describedand shown above, it should be understood that these are exemplary of thepresent invention and are not to be considered as limiting. Additions,omissions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the present invention.

Some changes are shown below, but they are not all and other changes arepossible. Two or more of these changes may be combined as appropriate,or may be combined with the above-mentioned changes.

The suture thread used in the present invention is not particularlylimited, and each known main suture thread can be used. The use of asuture thread with an anti-loosening barb prevents the tracted suturethread from loosening before the celebration, making it easier to closethe wound.

In the first and fourth embodiments, it is not necessary to keep thesuture thread grasped by the first grasper. For example, after step B orstep M, the suture thread may be temporarily grasped in the tubularorgan by hooking the curved needle on the wall of the tubular organ.

In a series of operations such as iterating the set of steps C to E torepeatedly advance and retreat the same grasper, when releasing thegrasping of the suture thread by the grasper, the suture thread is notnecessarily completely separated from the grasper. For example, thegrasped part may be changed while moving the grasper along thelongitudinal axis of the suture, by sliding the grasper against thesuture thread, in a state where the grasper is weakly sandwiched by thesuture thread so that the grasper can slide with respect to the suturethread.

The operations described in each embodiment may be combined asappropriate when tracting the suture thread. For example, afterperforming one set of operations of the first embodiment, two sets ofoperations of the second embodiment may be performed.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for closing a wound in a tubular organusing a suture thread attached to a suture needle, the methodcomprising: grasping a first part of the suture thread by a firstgrasper inserted in the tubular organ, the suture thread having passedthrough a tissue surrounding the wound at a first position; moving thefirst part away from the first position by moving the first graspergrasping the first part along a longitudinal axis of the first grasper;grasping a second part of the suture thread by a second grasper insertedin the tubular organ, the second part being located between the firstpart and the first position; and moving the second part away from thefirst position by moving the second grasper grasping the second partalong a longitudinal axis of the second grasper.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axis of the second grasper isparallel to the longitudinal axis of the first grasper.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first grasper and the second grasperare both delivered to the wound through a channel of an endoscope. 4.The method according to claim 3, wherein the first grasper grasping thefirst part is moved along the longitudinal axis thereof relative to adistal end of the endoscope, and the second grasper grasping the secondpart is moved along the longitudinal axis thereof relative to the distalend of the endoscope.
 5. The method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: releasing the first part of the suture thread grasped by thefirst grasper; and grasping a third part of the suture thread in betweenthe second part and the first position by the first grasper.
 6. Themethod according to claim 5, further comprising rotating an endoscopethrough which the first grasper and the second grasper extend toposition the first grasper adjacent to the third part before graspingthe third part.
 7. The method according to claim 5, further comprisingrotating an endoscope through which the first grasper and the secondgrasper extend while the third part is grasped by the first grasper sothat the first grasper and the third part are moved in a direction awayfrom the first position.
 8. The method according to claim 7, furthercomprising: grasping a fourth part of the suture thread by the secondgrasper after rotating the endoscope, the fourth part of the suturethread being between the third part and the first position, and movingthe fourth part of the suture thread away from the first position bymoving the second grasper grasping the fourth part along thelongitudinal axis of the second grasper.
 9. The method according toclaim 1, wherein the suture thread is passed through the tissue at thefirst position along a first direction that is transverse to thelongitudinal axis of the first grasper and the longitudinal axis of thesecond grasper.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the suturethread is passed through the tissue at the first position along a firstdirection that is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis ofthe first grasper and the longitudinal axis of the second grasper.